Meysembourg Castle (

Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. The language is standardized and officiall ...

: ''Schlass Meesebuerg''; ) is located some 2 km south-west of

Larochette Larochette (; Luxembourgish: ''Fiels'', German: ''Fels'') is a commune and town in central Luxembourg, in the canton of Mersch. It is situated on the White Ernz river. The town is dominated by the partly ruined Larochette Castle. The town of ...

in central

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. While the site has a history dating back to the 12th century, today's castle was built in 1880 in

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

style and is privately owned.

History

The Meysembourg family is first mentioned in the 12th century when Dame de Meysembourg was in the service of

Ermesinde, Countess of Luxembourg Ermesinde (July 1186 – 12 February 1247) ruled as the countess of Luxembourg from 1197 until her death. She was the only child of Count Henry IV and his second wife Agnes of Guelders. Succession Prior to her birth, Ermesinde's aging father, ...

. Historic references show that Walter de Meysembourg was the proprietor in 1176 and Eberhart de Maysembourg in 1296. In 1443, the castle was destroyed by

Philip the Good Philip III the Good (; ; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, ...

but was rebuilt before 1500. It was again destroyed by Maréchal de Boufflers troops in 1683–84. All that remains of the former castle are the chapel, the moat and part of the outer wall. Custine de Wiltz, the last in line to inherit the property, fled during the French invasion in 1794. Following a public auction in 1798, the castle fell into the hands of the Lords of Fischbach, Cassal and finally Jean-François Reuter of Heddersdorf who occupied the village after expelling its inhabitants."Le château de Meysembourg"
''www.darkplaces.org''. Retrieved 18 March 2011. After buying the property in 1855, the Prince of Arenberg demolished it in 1880 and built a new castle in Neo-Renaissance style. In 1971, the State architect Charles Arendt carried out restoration work. In 1974 the property was sold to Alphonse Spiegelburg. After his death, important restoration work was carried out from 2014 to 2016, funded by the State. The castle and surrounding area is now in the property of the Clasen family.

The castle today

The castle is privately owned and is not open to visitors. However, the possibility exists, that the castle will be turned into a hotel.

References

Castles in Luxembourg {{Luxembourg-struct-stub

History

The castle today

See also

References